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Penn Libraries Announce $1Million Gift for Special Collections Center

PHILADELPHIA, PA—The Penn Libraries are proud to announce a gift of $1 million to support renovations to the Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the creation of a Special Collections Center within Van Pelt Library. The donor has requested to remain anonymous.

“We are extremely grateful to our donor,” said Carton Rogers, Vice Provost and Director of Libraries. “He has a personal appreciation of rare books and manuscripts, and he immediately recognized this project as central to enhancing scholarly work with rare primary sources.”

The Penn Libraries’ rare book and manuscript collections are a trove of primary sources for scholars at all levels – from freshmen undergraduates through emeritus faculty – to engage in original research and create new knowledge based on unique resources. In addition to transforming spaces for the collections, staff, and researchers, the Special Collections Center project will include renovations to the Shakespeare Library and the Rare Book Reading Room, and the addition of a media lab, group study and teaching seminar rooms, an exhibit gallery, a conference center for symposia and large group events, and a conservation center to ensure the longevity of Penn’s rare and unique print materials.

Earlier in the year, the Penn Libraries announced receipt of a gift of $4.25 million, also in support of the new Special Collections Center, a central focus of the Libraries’ capital campaign.

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